Persson (pictured) and Schibbye face 11 years in jail |
An
Ethiopian court has sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison.
Last week, it found them guilty of supporting terrorism and entering Ethiopia
illegally while embedded with the ONLF separatist group.
Two Swedish
journalists are considering a legal appeal after an Ethiopian court on Tuesday
sentenced them to 11 years in prison for supporting terrorism and entering the
country illegally.
The court
had found reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson guilty of the
charges last week.
They were
arrested in July after entering Ethiopia's Ogaden Province from Somalia with
members of the outlawed Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).
Schibbye (pictured) and Persson deny supporting terrorism |
Schibbye
and Persson admit entering the country illegally but deny supporting terrorism.
Authorities
had also charged them with receiving weapons training.
Angry
reaction
Last week's
guilty verdict was slammed in Sweden, where Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
said the two journalists were innocent and should be let free.
The
convictions also provoked anger and accusations in the Swedish media that the
case was politically motivated.
Rights groups,
including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized the
trial, and the Swedish Union of Journalists has called for Schibbye and
Persson's release.
Outside
court in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, defense lawyer Abebe Balcha noted
the judges had originally planned to hand down longer sentences of more than 14
years, but that the sentence had been reduced because of the "reputation
of the defendants."
Schibbye
and Persson say they met ONLF leaders in London and Nairobi before travelling
to Ethiopia as part of a journalistic investigation into the activities of
Swedish oil firm Lundin Oil.
The ONLF
has been fighting for independence of Ethiopia's southeastern Ogaden region
since 1984.
Auhtor:
Zulfikar Abbany (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Andreas Illmer
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